Dissertation/Internship/Project Design

Code:

MPRINCE15

Acronym:

DIS

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Construction and Civil Engineering
OFICIAL	Architecture and Urbanism

Instance: 2023/2024 - A

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Civil Engineering
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Integrated Building Design and Construction

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MPRINCE	6	Syllabus	2	-	42	40	1134

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

- To acquire knowledge in a specific area of Civil Engineering and/or Architecture, using research actions, innovation or further development of professional skills; 

- The ability to integrate knowledge, dealing with complex issues, to develop solutions or issue judgments in situations of limited or incomplete information, including reflections on the ethical and social implications and responsibilities arising out of these solutions and these judgments; 

- To be able to report its findings, knowledge outcomes and the reasoning underlying them, in a clear way and without ambiguity.

Learning outcomes and competences

The contents are intended to complete the training in the scientific area of the study cycle, allowing the student choose to choose among one of three options:

1. Dissertation – with the profile of a more traditional academic research, up-to-date topics will be proposed, integrated into themes that have been receiving special attention from the national and international scientific community, tending to the proposal for resolution of a specific problem or the presentation of relevant advances to the study and better understanding of those.
2. Intership – to be performed full-time in an institution to be selected (preferably a commercial company), according to an individual work programme previously set and in agreement with a specific protocol between that organisation, FEUP and the student, it will have as its main objective the direct contact with the business environment, its routines and procedures, framed in a structured task set for the identification of good practices and proposed actions aiming at the improvement of the performance of the activity of the host organisation.
3. Project Design - to conduct full-time in an institution to be selected (company or organisation dedicated to research), according to an individual work programme previously set and in agreement with specific protocol between that organisation, FEUP and the student, it will have as its main objective the direct contact with the conceptual development of buildings and its translation through written and drawn elements that will constitute the basic documentation for the construction, referring to the student the responsibility of development of relevant portions of it.

All these possibilities will have supervisors and moderators indicated by FEUP and FAUP, depending on the scope of the work to be carried out, as well as from the part of the host organisation, if available.

The monitoring of the activities will be carried out through regular meetings, attended by the student and the assigned supervisor(s) and moderator(s).

Working method

Presencial

Program

The development of the work of Dissertation/Internship/Project Design has a duration of approximately 40 weeks (42 ECTS - 1134 hours) involving, in a broad scope and adapted to the profile of the work chosen by the student, the following tasks:

- Detailed definition of the problem(s) to investigate or analyse;

- Support references’ research;

- Development and implementation of the research strategy and/or proposed solutions to the identified problems;

- Accomplishment, quantification and definition of the interpretation process for the results;

- Production of: (i) Dissertation report; (ii) Synthesis Report of activity performed during the Internship; (iii) Documentation concerning the description and completion of the Project Design;

- Final public presentation before a jury.

Mandatory literature

Oliveira, Luis Adriano; Dissertação e Tese em Ciência e Tecnologia segundo Bolonha, Lidel, 2011
Weyers, J. and McMillan, K.; How to Write Dissertations & Project Reports, Prentice-Hall, 2011

Comments from the literature

Further references adapted to the context of the Dissertation/Intership/Project Design.

Teaching methods and learning activities

The development of any of the three possibilities provided for in this UC will receive tutorial support from supervisors, with schedule and distribution adjusted to its profile.

The first phase of the work (3rd semester) will involve, in general: (i) definition of the theme, objectives and work plan; (ii) State-of-the-art research, difficulties encountered and strategies for its override; (iii) Presentation of a preliminary scheme, to supervisors and colleagues, for the gathering of relevant contributions for the further development of the work.

The second phase, with methodology defined by the supervisors and taking into account the conclusions of the previous phase, will be developed until the end of 4th semester, ending in its arguing before a jury.

The final classification of this module will be the one attributed during the public discussion of the developed work which will take into account the quality of the written report, its presentation and its discussion.

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Defesa pública de dissertação, de relatório de projeto ou estágio, ou de tese	100,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Elaboração de relatório/dissertação/tese	1134,00
Total:	1134,00

Eligibility for exams

Submission of Dissertation/Intership Report/Projet Design Documents.

Calculation formula of final grade

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable.

Internship work/project

Not applicable on its own (see above).

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Not applicable.

Classification improvement

Not applicable.